Ratcliff says Hi

Prior to my heart becoming oak,
just before I joined the ranks of men,
I caught my last glimpse of you
in a casual encounter on North Hill.
It conjured memories of Rag Week,
playful quips and laughing conversations
in the company of friends.

I’d asked you out once,
though I remember you declined,
preferring, so you said, to wash your hair…
though why you chose to speak in French
was neither here nor there.

Now you were reading for your honours
in the company of Becket’s bones;
those locks you chose to wash
cropped short and tightly permed.
The arms that reached in greeting
were encased,
together with your slender figure and long legs,
within the fabric of a jump-suit.

Oh dear…

Time only for some fleeting words,
one last embrace of friendship,
a parting peck, then gone,
never to be seen again,
for I would be lost at sea…

But what the heck;
if you’re out there,
Ratcliff says, Hi.

Good writing. Bitter regrets, affection still alive, she seems to be everywhere. A strong poem.

Thanks, but there is definitely no bitterness. The regret is wistful, and the affection casual (it never had the chance to be anything else) and it's been 32 years.

Live and be well - H

Still a dog from hell, gents.

You haven't faltered in quality Hawk, but what is 'Rag Week'?

A fine flavor based on a memory from your youth perhaps?

Add to the ranks of Jerrybaldy and hallaig and we've a good collection of youthful heartbreak.











J

Hi Jack.

Rag Week is, or was, a week when students played silly buggers, usually for charity. I remember we had sponsored bed push races and carnival floats. That sort of thing. To be honest I don't think it's such a big thing any more. I do remember lots of drinking seemed to be involved.

This is not any kind of love poem, by the way. It's a poem about friends losing touch when lives diverge. I just wonder what became of her.

Forgive the misinterpretation, Hawk.






J

No worries :)

Live and be well - H

Have you looked her up on the old interwebs?

Of course I have. Not a trace, at least not under her maiden name and I don't even know if she married, although I expect she did. So many other people that I knew just seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. I can't think of any people I've known for more than 15 years (except family) that I'm still in touch with. Sad really, but at least I don't have to spend a fortune on Christmas cards each year - lol

Live long and prosper - H

Haha. I like that.

I should have waited for your explanation before commenting, sorry for misinterpretation, but even in my distorted version it's a good poem.

Never mind, ucello. It's not that important, but I'm glad you like it anyway. :)

Live long and prosper - H